Infectious contamination in the health care setting is a growing concern in modern times. The three bacteria most commonly found in a hospital setting include two organisms that are resistant to antibiotics. Surfaces on for example medical instruments, trays, and other holding or supply areas in the healthcare environment serve as reservoirs for microorganisms that can cause infection in patients and healthcare workers due to cross contamination. Since modern-day patient care is administered in a variety of clinical environments, there is concern about the contamination risks across the entire healthcare network, including hospitals, ambulatory care practices, surgery centers, primary care and other outpatient offices.
Bacterial contamination and colonization of medical devices and prostheses cause significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. The first line of defense against such bacterial threats is physiologic antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Substances such as cationic amphiphilic self-assembled peptides (CASPs) employ high-charge density to disrupt bacterial membranes. CASP nanofibers are shown to be effective against Pseudomonas aeruginosa colonies that are a major cause of bacterial infections. However, there is an inherent trade-off between the nanofibrous self-assembly and bactericidal efficacy for these peptides.
Furthermore, bacterial biofilm formation on medical devices can cause severe infections. Such infections pose a major problem for implanted devices and prostheses such as vascular grafts. As tissue-engineered scaffolds become vital solutions for tissue repair and regeneration, bacterial infection of such constructs become a significant issue.
Therefore, there exists a critical need for a self-assembled antibacterial system that can be applied as a topical antibiotic and incorporated into existing medical devices such as grafts, prostheses and the like. There is also a need for a composition that achieves a beneficial balance between the usefulness of a nanofibrous self-assembly peptide and the undesirable results on bactericidal efficacy.